Expressing Existential Crisis through Fragmented Voices: A Critical Perspective on Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

Peer-Reviewed
The Criterion

The Criterion: An International Journal in English ISSN: 0976-8165

Open Access

Indian Literature

Expressing Existential Crisis through Fragmented Voices: A Critical Perspective on Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

Himanshu Negi, Dr. Vipin Kumar
Volume / Issue
Vol. 17, Issue 1 · February 2026

Pages
27-46

Article ID
2026V17N1020

Abstract

Arundhati Roy’s novel The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is, undoubtedly, one of the contemporary texts that examines the characters not only from the socio-political but also from the existential point of view. The author, however, does not merely underpin the sufferings of characters in a very usual way, rather symbolizes it through their ruptured language; which conveys existential themes such as fractured individuality, quest for meaning in an absurd world, and cultural pluralism promoting confused identity. Roy’s novel reveals the lives of marginalised people, who pursue a life of socio-political unrest and uses fragmented language to echo the voice of sufferings and narrate it using language as the tool for rebellion. The individual agency creates meaning and develops human consciousness, which vehicles the absurdity of existence. Roy’s characters aren’t only oppressed by the rigid value system, but they also seek oppression by the conflict, creating inner turmoil. The language in the form of dialogues, inner monologues, and even the silence portrays a vivid expression of their fragmented realities. The paper, primarily, highlights the ambiguous duality of language spoken; the character like Anjum and her confused gender identity deliver the facet of transcending binary notions of identity. The novel serves rebellion using language; Saddam Hussein uses his name with a political connotation to embark on a big revolt against who oppresses him. The tension arises in the novel when language succumbs and it is not being able to come as an expression; transparently, this barrier also conveys a fragmented reality to the readers. The research paper aims to analyse how the characters use disjointed language, negotiate their realities, and confront themselves to an absurd world.

Keywords

FragmentationLanguageExistentialismIntersectionalityFractured individuality

Article History

Received
1 September 2026
Accepted
11 February 2026
Published Online
3 February 2026

How to Cite

Himanshu Negi, Dr. Vipin Kumar. “Expressing Existential Crisis through Fragmented Voices: A Critical Perspective on Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness.” The Criterion: An International Journal in English, vol. 17, no. 1, Feb. 2026, pp. 27-46. ISSN: 0976-8165. DOI: https://doi.org/10.66376/criterion.v17.n1.3

Back to Vol. 17, Issue 1 · February 2026 The Criterion · ISSN 0976-8165

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